I am trying to find the correct Benjamin Jones who was the father of the 2nd Railways Commissioner for the State of Victoria, Australia. I know that Benjamin married an Anne/Annie Bond (often mistakenly written as Bona), in 1867 in Victoria (Reg. 2398). Their children were at least Florence (b. 1882), Winifred (maybe), Evan Arthur (b. 1867) and the future Railways Commissioner, Edwin Bond Jones (1869- 1919; died in Spanish flu epidemic). Edwin himself married a Jessie Salter and got on with his rather successful life but I cannot figure out where his father came from and it could be important for solving a strange puzzle arising from some DNA results. Apparently I have a 7th cousin X 1 removed who shares lots of DNA with me (31 centiMorgans with 27.5 in a single segment), when I would only expect a maximum of around 7 cM. I suspect she is doubly related through this Jones character. There are several Benjamin Joneses who arrived in Australia before 1867 who may be the right one, but I am getting nowhere figuring out their ancestors, whom I suspect might have come from Wales or Staffordshire. There is a really odd Benjamin Jones who arrived on HMS Tasmania on 8 Jul 1854, described as a Jew from Hamburg! Did he just join the ship there, or was he part of an established Jones family from Hamburg and took off at age 19 to explore the world? You will see the other Benjamins on Immigration lists but none have any clues to their wider families as far as I can see. Who is a genius with common names?
Do you know when Benjamin died? Could he have been born here and not emigrated? We know by researching that Benjamin was a school teacher at Dargo, Gippsland according to obits of Edwin. I have found one Benjamin born 1849 to Francis Jones and Marianne Hutchinson in Melbourne. Francis and Marianne married in 1841, Victoria.
I found a burial record for Benjamin : 22 Jun 1901, Box Hill Cemetery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia But haven't found anything that could be his birth in Australia so far- that's why I started looking overseas.
FMP have the Will of Edwin Bona JONES, which you can eventually access after scrolling through quite a few pages, so I cannot give you full details because of their terms & conditions but in case his wife and son predecease him, he mentions his sisters Winifred & Florence and brother Evan, so at least you now know that Winifred is definitely the child of Benjamin & Annie. Janet
Trove Newspapers have a death notice in the Melbourne Argus dated 22 June 1901 for a Benjamin JONES who died on 21 June 1901 at his residence "Holmleigh", Essex Road, Surrey Hills, beloved husband of Annie JONES, late of the Education Department, aged 76 years. If this is your Benjamin father of Edwin, which sounds very likely, it ties in with a Victoria death record on Ancestry in 1901 for Benjamin JONES of S Hills, Victoria, aged 76, father Benjamin JONES, mother Jane JOHN, so that will hopefully give you a bit more information regarding Benjamin jnr. Janet
That sounds good. Thank you @janetbooth. I will keep the birth of another Benjamin Jones I found in Vic BDM for 1849 in reserve- Reg. 16501/1849 Benjamin Jones; Father Francis Benjamin; mother Marianne. Now to seek out Benjamin Jones Sr and Jane John- they sound very Welsh as a pair!
Yes, there are quite a few Benjamin JONES in Wales and also quite a few Jane JOHNs. How about this marriage at Margam, Glamorganshire on 5 June 1813 between a Benjamin JONES, bachelor, & Jane JOHN, spinster, both of the parish - parish register images are available to view on both Ancestry & FMP. Perhaps worth further investigation? Janet
The above couple seem to have a son Benjamin bp 1826. From FS he is possibly in Margam in 1841 with David Frances and family, and a clerk, lodger with the William family in 1851.He does not seem to be in Margam in 1861 but there is a possible Benjamin Jones b Wales, clerk in Russell St Birkenhead.
